Welcome to Business Jet Traveler’s second annual Book of Lists, where you'll learn about the world's strangest hotel suites, John Travolta's favorite airplanes, how to pick a worthwhile charity, trips that could change your life and much more. Many of these lists are appearing only online and many others represent expanded versions of ones we featured in our June/July 2013 print edition.

5 First-rate International Bespoke Tour Outfitters

Ventours International. This India-based company escorted me by plane, train and auto to the best of that country, arranging guides and accommodations fit for a maharaja.

Seasonz Travel. New Zealand’s most exclusive tour operator customized my itinerary, employing private jets, helicopters and limos; ultra-lux accommodations; and everything from wild adventures such as ZORbing to visiting artists in their homes.

FreeWheeling Adventures. This Newfoundland-based adventure outfitter leads biking, hiking, kayaking and multi-sport trips from the Bay of Fundy to Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast. For my Nova Scotia cycling trip, the company provided a top-of-the-line bike, a mechanic/guide in a support vehicle, delicious meals and charming accommodations.

- Margie Goldsmith

9 Terrific Summer Getaways

Slieve Bloom Mountains, Ireland. It took 10 years to restore this former private estate in the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Live like the lord of the manor in your opulent suite, wander walled gardens and explore ancient woods, follies and grottos.

Galápagos, Ecuador. Visit the islands upon which Charles Darwin based his theory of evolution. See blue-footed boobies, albatrosses and iguanas. Kayak and snorkel alongside sea lions on a private land-based Abercrombie & Kent tour; or choose the private boat charter.

Banff, Canada. The iconic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel sits in the heart of Banff National Park in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. Summer is a paradise for hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, fishing and rafting.

Santa Fe, New Mexico. Summer here means the Indian Market, Santa Fe Opera, hiking in Santa Fe National Forest, biking, whitewater rafting and dining in this food-lover’s hotspot. Best place to stay: the posh Four Seasons Rancho Encantado.

Toronto. This city has terrific food, great culture, high-end shopping and friendly people. Now it also has a sleek new flagship Four Seasons hotel, just steps away from the Yorkville galleries, Royal Ontario Museum and excellent eateries (but don’t miss the hotel’s own Café Boulud for French fare).

Barnard, Vermont. Stroll across covered bridges and beneath shady sugar maples near this quaint village, where you can browse antiques, watch glass blowing or visit a farm. Stay at the all-inclusive, 300-acre Twin Farms, where you can fly fish, canoe, hike or do nothing at all.

Camden, Maine. Think sunshine, blue skies and endless ocean plus great shops, museums, sailing and relaxing on the porch of the opulent Camden Harbour Inn. Grab a lobster on a tour, bring it back and the chef will cook it to perfection.

Gstaad, Switzerland. Nestled in a magnificent Alpine landscape, chill-spot Gstaad has as many cows as human residents. The attitude is “come up, slow down,” and the place to do that is the new Alpina Gstaad, a five-star property perched above the village.

Gateway Canyons Resort, Colorado. Drive the winding, 133-mile Unaweep/Tabeguache Colorado Scenic Byway in a supercar, part of a new driving experience program here. Kayak, hike, canoe, horseback ride, fish, take a scenic flying tour, visit the resort’s auto museum and then relax in an exclusive casita.

- Margie Goldsmith

6 Cool Helicopter Rides

Milford Sound, New Zealand. Fly through the majestic Alps and over rainforests, frozen lakes and famous Milford Sound. Touch down on an age-old glacier for some bubbly and hysterical stories from Queenstown’s most fun and experienced pilot, “Choppy,” at Over the Top Helicopters in Queenstown.

Big Island, Hawaii. Look down on some of America’s most dramatic scenery, including the Kilauea volcano, erupting continuously since 1983. Fly above rainforests, black-sand beaches and waterfalls with Blue Hawaiian, the helicopter of choice for both tourists and Hollywood aerial photography.

Grand Canyon, Arizona. Papillon Helicopter Tours will give you a bird’s-eye view of the Big Ditch. Fly over the Little Colorado Confluence, which the Hopi Indians considered sacred and which you will too, from your seat in the sky.

Sydney, Australia. Fly past the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens, down the Parramatta River and over the exclusive suburbs, spectacular cliffs and golden beaches with Sydney Helicopters.

Juneau, Alaska. Fly with Temsco Tours past rainforests, alpine ridges and mountain peaks on your way to majestic Mendenhall Glacier. You’ll pass directly over it for an eagle’s-eye view of ice spires, deep blue crevasses and meltwater pools. Fly past the 7,000-foot-high rock sentinels, the Mendenhall Towers, before landing to explore the glacier on foot with guides.

Bulgari, London. This new stunner delivers all of Bulgari’s understated elegance and has London’s largest hotel rooms, a cigar-sampling lounge, butler service and a gold mosaic pool

- Margie Goldsmith

7 Fantastic Romantic Getaways

The Point, Saranac Lake, New York. Sway in a hammock beneath fragrant pines at this century-old former Rockefeller home and enjoy a landscape of shimmering lakes, cascading streams and soaring mountains.

Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee. Relax in a rocking chair and escape your daily grind in this hotspot with mesmerizing views of the Great Smokey Mountains.

Windvian, Litchfield, Connecticut.Indulge your fantasies in one of 18 unique suites, including one in a tree house and one in a helicopter.

Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California. Nature meets nurture along a private ridge of the Pacific, where meals include produce from the garden with world-class wines and privacy is king.

8 Strange Hotel Suites

The Shack-Up Inn, Clarksdale, Mississippi. These former sharecropper shacks ain’t the Ritz. You’re lucky if the AC and door handles work. They’re shabby and dusty but rock in attitude.

The Dog Bark Inn, Cottonwood, Idaho. This giant beagle-shaped hotel room is 30 feet tall, 12 feet wide and 36 feet long, enough for four adults. Kids can sleep in the dog’s nose. The tail houses a full bathroom.

The Mine Suite at Sala Silvermine, Vdstmanland County, Sweden. This underground cavern, 500 feet beneath the Earth’s surface, has posh furnishings, but the walls, ceiling and floor are solid black rock and temperatures hover around 38 degrees F.

Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, California. This caveman room is above ground, decked out with animal prints, a rock pond, stone-age clubs and a waterfall in the cavern-style bathroom.

Nine Hours Hotel, Kyoto, Japan. Guests in pod-like rooms have seven hours to sleep, one to shower and one to relax before they’re kicked out.

The Melody Sphere at Free Spirit Spheres, Vancouver Island, Canada. The orb-shaped fiberglass rooms hang suspended from wires in the trees of Vancouver’s rainforest. Traverse a suspension bridge and climb stairs around the tree to enter.

The Champagne Tower by Cleopatra at Cove Haven Resort, Lakeville, Pennsylvania. Take a bubble bath in a seven-foot-tall cocktail-glass-shaped tub, then sprawl on an oversized, circular bed or swim in the private heart-shaped pool.

- Margie Goldsmith

6 Books Worth Packing

A Death in the Family, by James Agee. An ordinary man dies an ordinary death and his family grapples with the ordinary consequences. That’s the entire plot in an anything-but-ordinary Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that is less about a series of events than a series of emotions.

High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby. A record-store owner’s girlfriend not only leaves him for another man but also commits the cardinal sin of having a bad album collection. Never less than clever and frequently hysterical.

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck. If you’ve somehow missed this classic, put it in your suitcase even before you pack clothes. This story about Depression-era Oklahoma farmers heading west for a supposedly better life makes a powerful statement about the good and bad in human beings.

Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs, by Dave Barry. Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist Barry has never been funnier. As with High Fidelity, it helps to be a music fan to fully appreciate the book.

The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vols. 1–4, by Robert Caro. Caro’s ability to convey the strengths and weaknesses of his subject is unparalleled. So is his research, which allows him to describe decades-old events with the detail you might expect from a particularly observant eyewitness to something that happened yesterday.

Shot in the Heart, by Mikal Gilmore. If ever there was a tale that showed how different siblings can be, it’s this. Gilmore suffered a horrific childhood, as did his brother Gary—the subject of Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song—who was put to death for killing two men. And Mikal? He grew up to be not only an acclaimed journalist but such a gentle, pensive soul that, after reading this autobiography, I would have trusted him to babysit for my kids.

- Jeff Burger

11 Films for Your Flight

The Atomic Café. This 1982 black-comedy classic uses vintage government films, TV news footage and other material to portray America’s mood during the ’50s, a time when adults were shopping for fallout shelters and kids were being taught to protect themselves from atomic bombs by hiding under their desks.

Baby, It’s You. This 1983 romance from director John Sayles speaks volumes about the differences between high school and college and between the mid and late 1960s.

Chilly Scenes of Winter. Based on an Ann Beattie novel, this 1979 film finds Charles (John Heard), a bored and alienated civil servant, falling madly, obsessively in love with Laura (Mary Beth Hurt), who can’t decide whether to leave her husband. Quirky subsidiary characters and humorous dialogue abound, but this is a serious movie at heart. Much like The Graduate, it is in once sense the story of a generation trying to connect to something that feels real.

Coming Home. This 1978 drama—which won Academy Awards for best actor, best actress and best original screenplay—is a superbly written, acted and directed tale about the Vietnam War and its impact on a handful of people. And with the possible exception of American Graffiti, I can’t think of a movie that uses popular music to better effect.

Escape from Sobibor. This 1987 British film, which aired on American TV but was never shown in theaters, tells the gripping true story of a mass escape from a Nazi extermination camp in Poland.

The Heartbreak Kid. Charles Grodin’s character falls madly in love with Cybill Shepherd’s in this 1972 romantic comedy. The only problem: he’s on his honeymoon with another woman. Directed by Elaine May (of Nichols and May fame) from a frequently hysterical Neil Simon script.

The King of Comedy. Martin Scorcese directs a 1983 tale about America’s celebrity culture. Robert De Niro is convincing as a nobody who will do anything to achieve fame.

Lost in America. In Albert Brooks’s funniest film, from 1985, he stars as a yuppie who decides on a whim to liquidate all his assets, drop out of society and take to the road “like in Easy Rider.” Unfortunately, he does so in a Winnebago and heads first for Las Vegas, where his plans unravel literally overnight.

Pennies from Heaven. In Dennis Potter’s 1978 BBC masterpiece, which is set in the 1930s, characters periodically stop what they’re doing and begin lip-synching to popular songs of the day. The unusual technique proves to be an ingenious way to show how the characters’ thoughts differed from their words and how the music sketched a world that differed from the realities of the time.

Racing with the Moon. This fine coming-of-age movie is set in California in 1942, as two boys prepare to go off to war. Costars Sean Penn, Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth McGovern were all relatively unknown at the time of this 1984 drama.

Roots/Roots: The Next Generations. About 130 million people watched portions of these miniseries when they originally aired. If you weren’t among them, prepare yourself for one of the greatest stories ever told, with lessons about family, prejudice, endurance and love. And the acting is as good as the script.

- Jeff Burger

7 Life-Changing Experiences

Climb Mt. Everest. Drive the Tibetan Plateau to Rongbuk Monastery on Mt. Everest’s North Face. Camp out in below-freezing temperatures. Climb to 18,300-foot-high Advanced Base Camp and live to tell about it.

Witness Easter Island’s Moai. The Moai—gigantic stone heads, many over 20 feet tall and weighing tons—are considered the spiritual guardians of Easter Island. Wander through the quarry and try to figure out how they moved these statues.

Join an Aarti in Risikesh, India. Walk along the sacred River Ganges; then, at sunset, go to the Hindu pilgrimage site, Rishikesh. Take part in the nightly “aarti” ritual performed by Hindu priests and monks.

Cruise Vietnam’s Halong Bay. This UNESCO World Heritage site is an emerald bay of 2,000 islets, each more beautiful than the last. Take a cruise and sit mesmerized on deck.

Take a polar plunge. Yes, temperatures will be in the 30s (F) as you strip to swimwear and jump into the Antarctic Waters of Desolation Bay, just you and the penguins in one of the last untouched wildernesses on Earth.

Try ZORB globe riding in New Zealand. Crawl inside an 11-foot-high inflatable ball and tumble down a steep hill in this New Zealand-invented sport. The adrenaline rush is so great they call it the “astronaut-in-training” ride.

Do the Edge Walk at Toronto’s CN Tower. Circumnavigate the platform 1,168 feet above the ground, hands-free and without a railing, attached by two steel cables. You’ll never be afraid of heights again.

- Margie Goldsmith

6 Medical Steps to Take Before Traveling Abroad

See your doctor. See your regular physician if you have a chronic condition or new symptoms. Consult a doctor who specializes in travel medicine, too.

Get your shots. Some require six weeks between doses so schedule yours for at least two months before your departure.

Have an emergency plan. Know what you’d do at each destination if you needed a doctor or hospital.

Bring medical supplies. Know how to replace them if they become lost or depleted or your return trip is delayed.

Learn basic first aid. Hotels and resorts don’t require first-aid and CPR training for staff. Take a class before traveling overseas.

Above-ground nuclear tests were conducted from 1951 to 1962 in the Nevada desert. The blasts were visible from the city, and viewing them became a popular activity.

In 1957, former showgirl Lee Merlin became the first “Miss Atomic Bomb,” and thus the term bombshell was born.

In 2011, 19,029 conventions were held in Las Vegas.

- Bob Ecker

9 Tiny Things Chad Slattery Tucks into His Travel Camera Bag

Canon's new S110. It weighs less than seven ounces, sports a versatile 5:1 zoom lens with a wide end that’s truly wide, has image stabilization that lets me shoot in Zero Dark Thirty light and captures 1080 video. I take it everywhere.

An extra NB-5L battery. Because the Canon is a bit power hungry.

A Sandisk Extreme Pro 64 GB memory card. It holds hundreds of photos and video clips, and at 90 MB/s, sucks them up as fast as I can shoot.

Giotto AA1900 Rocket Brush. A TSA knucklehead confiscated one of these, claiming it looked like a bomb, but it’s actually the best tool for blowing pesky dust spots off a camera’s sensor. Better to spend 60 seconds each travel day removing the lens and spritzing the sensor than several hours back home removing dust spots in Photoshop.

A polarizing filter. You might be able to remove reflections in Photoshop, but it’s a lot easier to do it on the spot. Polarizers are about the only filters left that are as important on digital cameras as they were on film cameras.

Maglite XL-200 flashlight. Its beam is so powerful and white that I used it one night to light a Phenom 100 after winds toppled and killed my strobes.

GorillaPod. For self-portraits and rock-steady photos, I need a tripod, and nothing beats this one. It looks like the Michelin Man’s anorexic cousin, but its ultra-compact size and flexible legs have proven indispensible.

9 Helpful Travel Apps and Tech Gadgets

Packing List Pro. This iPhone/iPad app—which syncs via iCloud—comes preloaded with sample lists and more than 800 items. It’s searchable, flexible and highly customizable. Never again will you forget to pack something.

Compass for iPad. Collapsed for packing, this device from Twelve South takes up barely more room than a pen. Expand its legs in easel mode and it makes an attractive iPad stand (in portrait or landscape mode) for movie watching or photo slideshows. There’s also a typing mode that makes it easier to use the iPad’s keyboard.

PlugBug World. There are lots of worldwide plug adapters, but this one from Twelve South is among the simplest we’ve seen. It offers a dual charger for MacBooks, iPhones and iPads and converts any MacBook power adapter to a charger that fits most outlets worldwide.

Google Translate. This iOS and Android app translates dozens of languages, including some you’ve probably never even heard of. Moreover, you can simply speak the phrase you want and the app can deliver audio pronunciations for many of them. It took us only seconds to generate, “Biashara ya Ndege Msafiri ni gazeti favorite,” which is Swahili for “Business Jet Traveler is my favorite magazine.”

Shavetech. For close shaves in faraway places, this gadget should be handy: it’s about the size of a smartphone and can be charged worldwide without adapters or wall outlets via any standard USB port.

Trip-Speed. This app for aircraft owners eases communication with operators who charter out their airplanes, speeding required approvals for flight requests. Available for iOS and Android devices.

XPlane. Are you cut out for a job in the cockpit? The sine qua non of mobile (and desktop) flight-simulator apps puts you in command of more than 50 aircraft, from single-engine pistons to airliners. Controls are responsive and the graphics jaw-dropping. Available for Android and iOS devices.

HGS Flight. Experience the world’s most sophisticated airborne guidance system. This flight simulator from Rockwell Collins replicates the workings of its head-up guidance system, with modes allowing you to practice approaches or use this iPad/iPhone/Android app as a sim game.

- Jeff Burger and James Wynbrandt

5 Favorite TV Shows of John Hendricks

Seinfeld (syndicated)

Curiosity (Discovery Channel)

Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman (Science Channel)

Homeland (Showtime)

River Monsters (Animal Planet)

Hendricks, who created the Discovery Channel, was interviewed for our February/March 2012 issue.

3 Things John Hendricks Wants to See on TV

High-quality 3D without glasses.

More on-demand access to the video libraries of cable networks.

More shows with a “presenting sponsor.” They would have longer, more informative commercials, but fewer of them

Hendricks, who created the Discovery Channel, was interviewed for our February/March 2012 issue.

10 Heroic Pilots

Charles Lindbergh. “Slim’s” fantastic musings while piloting early Air Mail biplanes led to his flying a tiny monoplane across the Atlantic, forever changing the world.

Wilbur and Orville Wright. They combined their creative genius with an unfailing work ethic as they strove to understand how to control an airplane in flight.

Chuck Yeager. In 1947, his sang froid helped make him the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound, in an aircraft that took its aerodynamics from a .50 caliber bullet.

Yuri Gagarin. He had the courage to strap himself on top of a rocket in the first manned mission beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

John Glenn. His technical understanding of his space capsule, Friendship 7, likely saved the mission—and his life.

Pancho Barnes. She was a pioneer movie stunt pilot who helped revolutionize (and unionize) flying for the film industry.

Howard Hughes.A fearless aviator, Hughes also designed a long string of revolutionary aircraft, including the mammoth Spruce Goose flying boat.

Wiley Post. Most famous for the crash that killed humorist Will Rogers, this around-the-world pilot test-flew the first aviation pressure suit, which looked more like a deep-sea diver’s rig.

Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The dynamic duo of pilots circled the globe—on one tankful of avgas—landing after nine days with a mere 17 gallons of its fuel left.

Lincoln Beachey. One of the earliest exposition pilots, he would career around oval speed tracks with his wheels inches above the head of Barney Oldfield in his race car.

- Mark Phelps

4 Aviation Myths

A bullet hole in a jet causes everything to be sucked out. The so-called “Goldfinger effect” (named for the title character sucked out the window of his jet in the James Bond film) is patently untrue. A bullet hole could result in a slight decrease in pressure, but it would take a much larger hole to even cause oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling.

When the engines quit, your airplane plummets. When the engines’ thrust is removed from the equation, the wing and control surfaces continue to operate normally. True, jets make lousy gliders, but they fly at high altitudes, resulting in many options for a safe, happy landing—albeit ones that might require cleaning the upholstery.

Today’s jets just about fly themselves. Autopilots and computerized control algorithms can only replay preprogrammed scenarios. And there’s always something new that can happen that isn’t in the database. When the goose poop hits the fanjets, the pilot with his seat-of-the-pants along for the ride has compelling motivation to get creative.

Jets are modern. Propellers are old. Prop blades bite the air with more torque than jets, so they can get more weight off the ground quicker. And modern turboprops are often surprisingly quiet and comfortable inside—think Range Rover.

- Mark Phelps

8 Great Health-Oriented Travel Snacks and Supplements

QuestBar (Natural Protein Bar). These come in many flavors. My fave is the Chocolate Brownie. Low calorie, high fiber, gluten free and no sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Nuts about Nuts. A great source of protein and healthy fat to fill you up.

Apples. You can bring a few whole apples or you can purchase a snack pack of prewashed, precut and pre-portioned apples at a supermarket or health food store.

Carrots. I like washed and packaged baby carrots. This is a snack that you can eat to your heart’s content.

Black Elderberry. These berries and flowers are packed with flavonoids, which are thought to provide immune-system and therapeutic benefits. I prefer the sweet liquid versions, but you can buy them in pill form if you’re not into the syrup.

AirBorne Chewable Tablets. I love these immune-support supplements with herbs, vitamins and minerals. They’re sweet and sour, almost like candy.

Cold-Eeze Lozenges. These use the vitamin zinc to shorten the duration of colds. Keep them with you while traveling, so that if you feel a tickle in the throat, you can start sucking on them right away.

- Cheri Wild

Wild is a Pilates teacher and fitness instructor in Maywood, New Jersey.

5 of the World’s Most Spectacular Waterfalls

Iguaçu Falls. Located between Brazil and Argentina, Iguaçu’s spectacular 275 falls average 210 feet in height, and you can see them all by walking along a wooden boardwalk. The most spectacular, Devil’s Throat Falls, is 269 feet high, 492 feet wide and 2,300 feet long—big enough to soak through your plastic poncho as well as put the fear of the devil in you.

Victoria Falls. Wedged between Zimbabwe and Zambia, Victoria Falls is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. They’re often called the biggest because their combined height and width creates the world’s largest sheet of flowing water. Every minute, 546 million cubic meters of water plummet over the edge.

Niagara Falls. This is actually three falls—American, Bridal Veil and Horseshoe—and the best place to view them is from the Canadian side. Climb down through the tunnels to experience Horseshoe Falls pounding next to you through either the open window or the slippery viewing platform.

Sutherland Falls. Hikers on the famous Milford Sound Trek in New Zealand can take a 90-minute out-and-back detour to this Lord-of-the-Rings-worthy waterfall. Located in some of the planet’s most pristine rainforest, the 1,904-foot-high Sutherland tumbles down in three cascades of 818 feet, 751 feet and 338 feet.

Angel Falls. Named after Jimmie Angel, the first to fly over these falls in an airplane, Angel Falls is in a remote jungle area of Venezuela and remains reachable only by air. It’s worth the effort, as this is the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall—3,212 feet. The water plunges over the edge of a mountain in Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

5 Tips for Choosing a Charity

Find the perfect fit. Confirm that the charity you’re interested in offers programs and services that match your charitable interests.

Evaluate the charity’s financial health. Make sure it’s financially efficient and sustainable, so it will have the flexibility and capacity to pursue its missions.

Confirm that it is accountable and transparent. The risk that a charity would misuse your donation is lower for groups that follow good governance practices and are committed to being transparent.

Review its results reporting. Knowing what the charity has accomplished is critical; after all, its ability to facilitate lasting, meaningful change is the key reason for its existence—and for your donation.

- Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator evaluates the financial health, accountability and transparency of 6,000 of America’s largest charities.

12 of the World's Most Popular VIP Helicopters

AgustaWestland AW139. This worthy contender to the Sikorsky S-76’s crown has already enticed some corporate operators to make the switch. Huge cabin windows make the view that much better.

Sikorsky S-76D. Considered the “undisputed poster child of executive helicopters,” the -D model is the latest in a long line that first received certification in 1979. More than 800 S-76s have been delivered.

Eurocopter EC155 B1. More popular as a VIP helicopter in Europe than in the U.S., where its bright orange Coast Guard sibling, the HH-65 Dolphin, is more recognizable, this is the latest derivative of Aerospatiale’s AS365.

Bell 430. Designed for the corporate market, the 430 remains a favorite among many owners and charter operators, though Bell built only 136.

AgustaWestland AW109 Power. For many, the sexy styling of the 109 makes up for its smallish, five-seat cabin. And with a maximum cruise speed of 154 knots, it’s fast, too.

Eurocopter EC135 P2e/T2e. With its roots tracing to German helicopter manufacturer MBB, this speedy light helicopter sports a safety-enhancing shrouded tail rotor, a choice of engines and an optional interior designed by Hermes.

Sikorsky S-92. This biggest of Sikorsky civil helicopters is most popular with offshore operators, but it’s also a contender for the next-generation U.S. presidential ride. You can’t get any more VIP than that.

Eurocopter AS332L1 Super Puma. A North Sea stalwart, so you know it’s tough. Not many VIP Super Pumas are around (and owners are discreet), but Donald Trump owned an earlier model for several years.

Eurocopter EC145 T2. Another helicopter with German MBB roots, this VIP workhorse is larger than the EC135. It’s fitting that owners can order a Mercedes Benz interior.

Bell 429. Newer and lighter than the Bell 430, which it replaced, and with a flat cabin floor encouraged by air-medical operators, this well-built helicopter also handily serves the corporate role.

Eurocopter AS350B3. The latest version of this versatile, single-engine French helicopter is popular with owners who really enjoy the ride and may even fly it themselves.

Bell 206L-4 LongRanger. The first of the single-engine LongRanger line began deliveries in 1975 and the model remains in production. It’s beloved by pilots and hands-on owners alike.

- R. Randall Padfield

5 Pieces of Exercise Equipment to Take on a Trip

Theraband Resistance Bands. These come in flat band and tube varieties and are color-coded (easy to hard). They weigh mere ounces, can fold into a small pocket in a carryon bag and come with a pamphlet of exercises. You can use Google or YouTube to find more workouts.

Franklin Balls. Eric Franklin developed these lightweight balls, which can be used for many movements.

The Pilates Magic Circle. This device will easily fit on top of your clothes in a carryon or stowed luggage. It weighs less than a pound and has many uses.

Two 16-ounce water bottles. You can purchase these at your destination and use them as hand weights for bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, shoulder raises, etc.

Two one- or two-pound ankle weights. These attach to your ankles with Velcro. You can then lie on your bed and do side leg raises, sit on the bed’s edge and do straight leg raises (keep spine long and abs engaged) or stand and do arabesque (straight leg lifts behind you, i.e. hip extension).

- Cheri Wild

Wild is a Pilates teacher and fitness instructor in Maywood, New Jersey.

5 One-Minute Exercises for Your Hotel Room

Wall squat. Back up to a wall, then walk your feet away from it until you can slide down and have a 90-degree bend in your hips and knees. It will look as if you’re sitting in a chair. Hold the wall squat for up to a minute.

Abdominal curls. Glide your ribs toward your hips and keep your elbows wide (don’t yank on your head and neck). Do as many as you can in a minute.

Balance on one leg. Shift your body weight onto your right leg and float your left leg off the ground. Draw into your core and keep the shoulders and neck relaxed. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the opposite side. Stand close to a chair or dresser if you need to gently hold on.

Side leg lifts. Lie on your side on the floor or your bed. Lie in a straight line, bend the bottom leg, stack the hips and lengthen the top leg, aligning it slightly behind the hip. When you lift, imagine your foot heavy. Lift only as high as the hip and keep the side body long, engaging the core. Repeat 10 to 20 times on each side.

Swimming. Lie on your belly on the floor or your bed. Long arms will reach overhead and open to your shoulder width while long legs reach out of the hip socket and open to your hip width (about two fists). Lengthen and slightly lift the right arm and left leg at the same time; when you return it down, switch to the opposite side. Keep feeling space and length in your lower back while engaging your core. Swim for up to one minute.

- Cheri Wild

Wild is a Pilates teacher and fitness instructor in Maywood, New Jersey.

5 Reasons Piston Aircraft Can Be Better than Jets

You can ride shotgun. Pistons are almost always flown single pilot so you can ride up front, which can be more interesting.

You can see the sights. Piston aircraft typically cruise at less than 10,000 feet, so the detail down below is clear.

You can land at more airports. Smaller airplanes can land at airports with runways too short for most jets.

You can save on landing fees. For piston aircraft, they range from dirt cheap to free.

You can save time. On hops of less than 100 miles, a piston model will arrive almost as quickly as a jet. In congested airspace, it might arrive sooner.

- Michael Ryan

6 Toys to Enjoy on a Charter Yacht

Jet Lev. Like James Bond’s rocket backpack in Thunderball, the Jet Lev uses water pressure to launch you to heights of 30 feet for wet and wild fun.

Brownie’s Third Lung. Hate bulky scuba tanks but want to dive deeper than a snorkel allows? Brownie’s Third Lung is a floating air pump that lets up to three divers reach depths of 90 feet.

Helicopter. Many yachts are equipped with helipads, and a helo is the ultimate tender, getting you to shore without fuss. It can drop you atop a glacier for a solitary ski run or at a stream filled with trout. Picnic on a mountaintop, anyone?

Submarine. Providing turnkey rentals for charter guests, Triton subs allow two guests and a pilot to reach depths of seven miles for up to nine hours in shirtsleeve comfort. Calling Lloyd Bridges!

Freestyle Cruiser. These inflatables offer the twists and thrills of a waterpark, taking guests down a slippery slide to a splash landing. Or try an inflatable rock-climbing wall, where part of the fun is to fall backwards into the sea.

Seabob. This self-propelled underwater scooter takes the effort out of snorkeling or diving, and you don’t even need to wear fins to cruise at 10 miles an hour.

- Chris Caswell

5 of the World’s Quietest Places

Hoh Valley. This area within Washington’s Olympic National Park offers one of the largest temperate rainforests in the U.S., including maples draped with lush fern-like moss.

Gobi Desert. Few people venture into this remote area of Mongolia other than nomads and paleontologists searching for fossils.

Loch Lomand. Highland mountains and forests surround this inland Scottish waterway. Likely the only sounds you’ll hear are the occasional cowbell and waves crashing on the loch.

Death Valley. This area of California’s Mojave Desert ranks as the lowest, driest and hottest spot in America. Who ventures into 200 square miles of 125 degree F temperatures in the summer? If you can take the heat, you can have the quiet.

Orfield Laboratories. This Minnesota research lab holds the Guinness World Record for quietest place on Earth. It is an anechoic chamber that absorbs 99.99 percent of sound and has no echo.

- Debi Lander

6 Memorable U.S. Historic Walks

Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg, Virginia. This mile-long street is often called the most historic avenue in America. Start at the College of William and Mary; stroll past craft shops, the courthouse and the governor’s mansion; and end at the colonial capitol.

The National Mall, Washington, D.C. This two-mile swath of marble and stone runs from the Capitol Building to the Washington Monument, then on to the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.

The French Quarter, New Orleans. Elegance blends with decadence over 90 narrow blocks. Many buildings were constructed under Spanish rule and show more Spanish colonial taste than French.

The Loop, Chicago. This is the historic commercial center of downtown and includes Grant Park; the Art Institute of Chicago; symphony, opera and ballet theaters; and the central public library.

- Debi Lander

9 Hotels You’ll Talk About Long after Your Stay

Hangar Hotel, Fredericksburg, Texas. A 1940s aviation-themed hotel where you can practically park your jet in front of your room, adjacent to the runway ramp.

Hotel de Glace, Quebec. A 44-room frozen lodge constructed annually from 15,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice. Visitors indulge at a Nordic spa, Ice Bar and nightclub and sleep on a bed of ice. Sleeping bags provided.

King Pacific Lodge, Vancouver, Canada. A floating hotel in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia. Voted Best Resort in Canada in Conde Nast’s Readers’ Choice Awards every year since 2008.

Eagle Island, Georgia. Rent one of the Private Islands of Georgia for relaxing seclusion in the lowcountry. A retreat for couples or families to crab, kayak and boat to the Golden Isles.

The Aviary, Wheatleigh Hotel, Lenox, Massachusetts. Take a glass-enclosed staircase up to a bedroom floating in the trees.

- Debi Lander

3 Picks for Best American Barbeque

Oklahoma Joe’s Barbeque, Kansas City, Kansas. Travel+Leisure raves about it and famed chef Anthony Bourdain says, “It’s the best BBQ in Kansas City, which makes it the best BBQ in the world.”

Franklin’s Barbeque, Austin, Texas. According to Bon Appetit, this joint “has surpassed the greats” and delivers a trip to “the BBQ promised land.”

British Lawnmower Museum, Merseyside, England. See the world’s first lawnmower, mowers of the rich and famous, the world’s most expensive lawnmower and items related to the “sport” of lawnmower racing.

Bordello Museum, Wallace, Idaho. All items—including records in the jukebox, clothing on the dressers and food in the cupboards—remain exactly as they were when this bordello closed in 1988 after nearly a century of operation.

Vent Haven Ventriloquist Museum, Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. This museum, just south of Cincinnati, features more than 700 ventriloquist dummies, plus photos, artwork and playbills.

Globe Museum, Vienna, Austria. The home of more than 600 globes, most from before 1850.

Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia, Burlingame, California. The world’s largest collection of Pez dispensers, including the biggest one anywhere. Visitors can purchase parts and rare dispensers.

8 Barrel-Aged Beers to Add to Your Wine Cellar

§ucaba, Firestone Walker Brewing Co. One of California’s leading brewers uses bourbon and American oak aromas to produce a strong ale with vanilla, tobacco and coconut accents.

Amuste,Odell Brewing Co. A crossover beer for skeptics who swear by this Colorado brewery’s wine. Tempranillo grape juice and aging in oak wine barrels turns this full-bodied Imperial Porter into a memorable bottle.

Noyaux, Cascade Brewing. Soured with wild yeast or bacteria, this Oregon beer blends Belgian strong blondes aged for up to two years in oak barrels with another strong blonde ale aged on raspberries and the toasted meat of apricot pits.

Curieux, Allagash Brewing Co. A tasty introduction to barrel aging, this beer from Maine starts with a Belgian-style tripel that spends eight weeks in Jim Beam barrels. It’s then blended with fresh Tripel to yield an ale with hints of bourbon.

Supplication,Russian River Brewing Co. Pinot Noir barrels from Sonoma County, California, sour cherries and a yeast strain called brettanomyces combine to transform a brown ale into a slightly funky, immensely flavorful drink.

Humidor IPA, Cigar City Brewing. This innovative Tampa, Florida brewery starts with its own citrus-leaning Jai Alai India Pale Ale, aging it on Spanish cedar, the same type used in cigar box-making, to bring out spicy, peppery notes.

Rumpkin, Avery Brewing. This Colorado beer’s deep amber hue and a pumpkin pie aroma quickly give way to layers of taste: molasses, rum, pumpkin and an oaky character picked up during six months spent in dark rum barrels.

Calabaza Blanca, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. Fans of Belgian-style witbiers might recognize the orange peel and coriander in this Michigan beer, but time in large oak casks and bottle refermentation give it a unique tartness.

- Ben Keene

5 Favorite Destinations of Molly Ringwald

New York. My favorite in the world. I fell in love with it as a girl.

Paris. The city that I cheated on New York with in my 20s. The world’s best walking city.

London. Good friends, good theater and fashion. And the best parks for children anywhere.

Amalfi Coast. My husband and I got married at the mayor’s office in Ravello with our three-year-old daughter as a witness. The whole coast is magical.

Madrid. I love Spanish culture and would love to go just to visit the Prado museum with my kids.

Actress, writer and jazz singer Ringwald, who achieved fame in such films as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, stars in TV’s Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her first novel, When It Happens to You, appeared in 2012, and her first album, Except Sometimes, came out in April.

5 of Molly Ringwald’s Indispensable Travel Accessories

Jambox wireless speaker. Small enough to not weigh down luggage, but sufficient to make your streaming music sound great.

Branché silk pillowcase. My pillowcase from home, which I take with me when I travel. It keeps my hair in good shape and makes me feel less homesick.

Bose noise-canceling headphones. I don’t go anywhere without them and would wear them all day if I could.

iPad Mini. I added the Belkin keyboard case and now I can practically keep it in a clutch. I never worry that I will run out of books to read on long trips.

Actress, writer and jazz singer Ringwald, who achieved fame in such films as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, stars in TV’s Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her first novel, When It Happens to You, appeared in 2012, and her first album, Except Sometimes, came out in April.

8 Great Things About Cars

iPod/smartphone hookup. For playing personal tunes through the audio system and for build-your-own Internet radio stations (cheaper than satellite radio and no Howard Stern).

Adaptive cruise control. For when you’re closing on the car ahead and just can’t summon the energy to tap the brakes, pass the slow poke and reengage autopilot. Isn’t automation wonderful?

Well-calibrated automatic high-beam/low-beam selection. Its time has come, to combat the growing ranks of drivers who don’t know or don’t care that they’re searing the retinas of everyone in their path.

Three pedals and a stick shift with at least five short throws + reverse. The Stradivarius option. It takes practice and passion to play it well.

...or a really swift double-clutch automated manual with downshift rev matching. The Casio keyboard synthesizer option, with which anyone can make music.

Umpteen-way power seats. Heated, cooled, with massage, in leather soft as down and durable as elephant hide.

Rain-sensitive wipers. Terrific—just to remember to keep the blades fresh.

Chateaux d’Oex, Switzerland. Several companies offer flights with spectacular views of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Schedule a ride during the region’s winter festival for an unforgettable experience featuring dozens of specially shaped balloons. More info

Aspen, Colorado. Year-round ballooning provides panoramic views of the Elk Mountains, often with glimpses of wildlife. More info

Portageville, New York. Fly over and through Letchworth State Park, the “Grand Canyon of the East,” featuring spectacular views of waterfalls, foliage, gorges and canyons. More info

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fly among hundreds of hot-air balloons during Balloon Fiesta, the largest such event in the world, held annually the first week of October. More info

Auckland Isthmus, New Zealand. A typical flight path offers breathtaking views of three harbors, two oceans and the city of Auckland. More info

Napa Valley, California. Gaze down at the valley’s quilted landscape of vineyards, mustard fields and wineries. More info

Bagan, Myanmar. Enjoy a mystical experience watching the light of a late-afternoon sunset dance across ancient templates. More info

Siena, Italy. Explore this enchanting Tuscan city and UNESCO World Heritage Site from the air. More info

Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course, Hong Kong. Accessible only by ferry, the facility has 54 scenic holes along an eerily unoccupied coastal enclave; the North and South Courses look toward the mainland while the East Course tumbles along stunning headlands overlooking Rocky Harbour.

Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Dornoch, Scotland. Donald Ross’s hometown course along the North Sea, with firm sandy windblown linksland and a welcoming clubhouse spirit that dissolves all distinctions of class status or national origin.

Wild Horse Golf Club, Gothenburg, Nebraska. An everyday version of Sand Hills golf, with guys who wear jeans and tote six-packs paired with Gucci-clad world travelers fresh off their own GVs. Gotta love the one-room prairie cabin of a clubhouse and the wispy, knee-high tawny roughs that frame the holes.

- Bradley S. Klein

5 Great Historic Downtown Hotels

Hotel Danieli, Venice, Italy. This famous palazzo overlooks the Grand Canal. Parts of the hotel date to the 14th century, and its interior loggia, elegant stairways and Murano glass chandeliers make you feel as if you’re taking up residence in a comfortable antique shop.

Davenport Hotel and Tower, Spokane, Washington. A fully restored gilded-age gem with an ornate, inlaid gold-leafed lobby that is known as Spokane’s living room. The hotel’s Peacock Lounge is an upscale nightspot with a colorful stained-glass ceiling. Perhaps the architectural highlight of the 99-year-old hotel is the spectacular Italianate “Hall of Doges” that serves as a kind of celestial ballroom.

The Peninsula, Kowloon, Hong Kong.Grand Hotel elegance since 1928, with a famous lobby that could serve as a set piece for a spy movie when it’s not home to genteel dances and afternoon teas. The second-floor arcade boutique shops—women’s clothiers, jewelers, and a tobacconist—are among the most luxurious in Hong Kong.

Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This Romanesque Revival building has been the focal point of upscale social life since 1893. Today it combines classical European grandeur with an artistic modern sensibility.

Seelbach Hilton Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky. A landmark of French Renaissance design since it opened in 1905, this restored hotel has been central to a downtown revival. F. Scott Fitzgerald was so taken by the place that he used it in The Great Gatsby as the setting for the wedding of Tom and Daisy Buchanan.

- Bradley S. Klein

8 Elegant Watches for Travelers

Rolex GMT-Master II. The Rolex GMT-Master series, which was designed for Pan Am pilots in the 1950s, still represents the ultimate combination of utilitarian style and ease of function. Famously worn by Chuck Yaeger. $8,450.

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 7 Automatic Twin-Time. A stylish take on the GMT with a smaller 39-mm case and Swiss automatic movement. $2,600.

Patek Phillipe World Time Ref. 5130. One of the world’s most elegant, complicated, collectible watches—the hallmark of the Patek line—was developed in 1930. It’s available with a variety of case materials and dial treatments. $47,000 (in gold).

IWC Pilot’s Worldtimer. IWC is famous for its pilot watches, and this new creation screams “takeoff!” From its highly legible white-on-black dial to its spare stainless case, this is the sporty automatic watch for the world traveler who wants to make a not-so-subtle statement. $9,650.

Seiko Astron. The watch that knows not only where you are but what time zone you’re in. The ultimate in patented gee-whiz technology, featuring a solar-powered, low-consumption GPS receiver. $3,850.

Breitling Cosmonaute.One of the few watches that can lay claim to having been worn in space by a Mercury astronaut, the Cosmonaute features a 24-hour movement, slide-rule calculator and multiple timing capabilities and complications. $7,000.

Williams International

General Electric

CF34. Made Bombardier’s Challenger a success and launched the regional jet market.

Rolls-Royce

Spey and Tay. Helped usher in the large-cabin Gulfstream jet line.

BR710/715/725. Pushing the envelope for ultra-long-range bizjets.

- Matt Thurber

6 Quotes about Travel

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one’s lifetime.”—Mark Twain

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.”—Mohammed

“You got to be careful if you don't know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”—Yogi Berra

“The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff.” —Britney Spears

“Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.”—Ernest Hemingway

“Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness.”—Ray Bradbury

- Bob Ecker

9 Mistakes Airplane Buyers Make

Not using an aviation attorney. A skilled one can prepare a purchase agreement that is legal in the state of purchase and spells out responsibilities of buyer and seller with regard to payment, aircraft condition, method of delivery, associated documents and more.

Accepting incomplete or missing logbooks. This will negatively impact the aircraft’s value and could even mean you can’t fly it after you buy it.

Not getting a thorough pre-buy inspection. A seasoned, buyer-selected mechanic who knows the model should conduct it. A pilot who also knows the model should take a test flight with the mechanic onboard.

Not having a title search performed. Mechanics’/FBO/storage liens on for-sale aircraft are more common than you’d think, especially with aircraft being sold under distressed conditions.

Closing the deal before the seller corrects all discrepancies identified in the pre-buy inspection or drops the price proportionate to the cost of repairs.

Using the aircraft for personal purposes before establishing a clear business nexus, particularly if your purchase it at year-end. This makes it a personal asset, according to the IRS.

Buying too much airplane for your budget.

- Mark Huber

5 Off-the-Beaten-Path Aviation Museums

Australian Aviation Heritage Center, Darwin, Australia. Only two B-52 bombers are on public display outside the U.S., and one of those is here, along with many civil and military aircraft.

National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Pooler, Georgia. This museum, which includes a replica English Norman Church, captures life during World War II. The museum is currently restoring a B-17 Flying Fortress, the “City of Savannah.”

Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon.This museum—on the grounds of a vineyard and with a 747 on its roof—features the original World War II Spruce Goose airplane as well as a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird that could fly at more than 2,000 miles per hour.

Museum of Transport and Technology, Western Springs, New Zealand. An eclectic museum with a wide range of transport artifacts, this facility features a restored TEAL Short Solent Flying Boat that conjures up visions of a classic age of flying.

National Museum of Flight, East Fortune, Scotland. This museum, which displays a British Airways Concorde, hosts the Scotland National Air Show each July.

It would enhance our perspective. From space, the boundaries that divide nations cease to exist and the frailty of our atmosphere becomes evident. Space travelers understand the need for all of us to put aside conflicts and protect the Earth’s environment.

It would build bridges between nations. The International Space Station, which involves five space agencies from 16 nations, already represents a cultural crucible of global partnerships that transcend political boundaries for the benefit of all.

It would help the U.S. maintain a competitive edge. Like America’s space program to date, a Mars voyage would inspire generations of students to excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

It would help lead to commercial space travel. A private space sector is already emerging that can cultivate new businesses and make possible space travel by the general public.

It would address a natural desire. Dispatching humans to Mars would continue the exploratory path that humankind began out of Africa nearly 50,000 years ago.

Aldrin, who was featured in our April/May 2012 issue, landed on the Moon with Neil Armstrong in 1969. Aldrin and David wrote Mission to Mars, which National Geographic published in May.

7 Trendsetting Travel Accessories for Summer 2013

Saint Laurent Reversible Tote. This bright-colored bag includes a detachable wristlet. It’s multifunctional, versatile and can fit just about anything you’d want to carry.